Apparatus for minimizing accumulation of solids in humidifiers



APPARATUS FOR MINIMIZING ACCUMULATION OF SOLIDS IN HUMIDIFIERS Filed March 5, 1965 INVENTOR. Lewis/0r? 61 W/W/ams,

flerroenev z United States Patent O 'ice 3,386,711 APPARATUS FOR MlNlMlZlNG AQCUMULATKQN F SDLIDS 1N HUMlDli lEfld Lewiston C. Williams, 3202 liarnes Blvd, Kansas City, Mo. 64111 Filed Mar. 3, 1965, Ser. No. 436,317 1 Claim. (Cl. 261--7tl) ABSTRACT OF THE DECLQSURE This invention relates to humidifiers for forced air heating systems and the like and, more particularly, to a liquid dispenser for periodically removing small amounts of liquid from the liquid supply of such a humidifier.

Humidifiers for forced air furnaces have a receptacle for containing a supply of water, the water being automatically directed into the receptable to a predetermined level by a float-actuated valve on a conduit delivering water to the receptacle from the primary source. An absorbent member moves into and out of the receptacle and carries water therefrom into the airstream created by the operation of the furnace. The water in the absorbent member is then transferred to the moving air by evaporation and as a result, the region subjected to the airstream, such as the various rooms of a house, are humidified by the moisture in the air.

Over long periods of time, the minerals in the Water contained in the receptacle form deposits on the inner surface of the receptacle in much the same manner as deposits are formed on the inner surface of a teakettle. These deposits are undesirable and oftentimes require the removal of the receptacle of the humidifier for cleaning purposes. During this time, the humidifier is inoperative and considerable time and effort are expended to scrape the deposits from the inner surface of the receptacle.

It has been determined that this problem can be overcome by periodically removing a small quantity of water from the receptacle so that fresh water will replace the Water that is removed. Thus, the buildup of the aforesaid mineral deposits is substantially eliminated and the maintenance heretofore required because of the same is minimized.

Heretofore, electrically actuated pumps and valves have been used to remove small quantities of the water periodically from the receptacle of the humidifier. These mechanisms are generally independent of the operation of the humidifier itself. Hence timer apparatus must be utilized or the user must actuate the mechanisms at predetermined times in order for fresh water to be periodically directed into the receptacle after small quantities of the water have been removed therefrom.

The present invention provides improvements in the structure for removing small quantities of water from the receptacle of a humidifier and is directed to a dispenser which is not only simple and rugged in construction, but which operates with the humidifier itself so that no external power source, electrical or mechanical, is required to cause the periodic removal of small amounts of water so Fatented June 4-, 1968 that fresh water may be added, all to the end that mineral deposits in the water will not be allowed to accumulate on the inner surface of the receptacle providing the water source for the humidifier. The dispenser of this invention can be utilized with drum-type humidifiers or with reeltype humidifiers without substantial modification thereto. Hence, the dispenser can be installed in a minimum of time and with a minimum expenditure of effort.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide improvements in the structure for removing small quantities of water from the receptacle of a humidifier on a forced-air furnace or the like so that mineral deposits in the water will not accumulate on the inner surface of the receptacle by virtue of the presence of substantially fresh water in the receptacle at all times during the operation of the humidifier.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a liquid dispenser of the type described which is simple and rugged in construction, and which can be placed on any humidifier having a rotating component during manufacture of the humidifier or as a modification of previously manufactured humidifiers without requiring substantial structural alteration of the humidifier whereby the costs of producing and maintaining humidifiers equipped with this dispenser are minimized.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a liquid dispenser of the aforesaid character which scoops a small quantity of water out of the receptacle of the humidifier and directs the quantity automatically into a liquid discharge for each revolution of the absorbent member of the humidifier, whereby the liquid dispensing operation is responsive to the operation of. the humidifier to thereby preclude additional drive structure for the dispenser which is independent of the humidifier itself.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view of a humidifier selected to illustrate and utilize the concepts of the present invention, parts being broken away to reveal details of the humidifier;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the disposition of a liquid pickup and discharging unit on the absorbent member of the humidifier;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1;

PEG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

A humidifier 10, of the type utilized with a forced-air furnace or the like, has been selected herein to illustrate the structure of the present invention and its operation, namely, the way in which it scoops small quantities of a liquid periodically from a source and discharges the same at a location remote from the source. However, it will be recognized from the following description that the invention can be utilized in other liquid dispensing applications as desired without departing from the scope of the invention itself.

Humidifier 10 includes a receptacle 12 provided with side flanges 14 and end flanges 16 for securing the same to the underside of a duct 13 forming a part of a forcedair heating system. Fasterners 19, such as screws or the like, extend through openings 21 in flanges 14 and 16 and releasably secure receptacle 12 to duct 18. Receptacle 12 is transversely semicircular; however, it may be of any desired configuration.

Receptacle 12 is provided with a pair of end walls 2d 22 having bearings 24 thereon for journaling the ends of a shaft 2 6 so that the latter will be substantially horizontally d sposed when receptacle 12, is secured to duct 13. Shaft 26 is spaced above a slot 28 in the sidewall 30 of receptacle 12 which intercommunicates the interior of the latter with a tank 32 secured in any suitable manner to the outer surface of sidewall 30. A pipe 34 places tank 32 in fluid communication with a source of Water remote from humidifier it A float-actuated valve 36 is disposed within tank 32 for metering the flow of water thereinto from pipe 34. Float 38 is coupled with valve 36 and alternately opens and closes the same according to the level of the water in tank 32.

A number of disc-like supports 40 are secured in spaced relationship to shaft 26 for rotation therewith. Each support 40 has an annular flange 42 at the outer periphery thereof to which the inner surface of a cylindrical absor'bent member 44 is secured. Member 44 is preferably formed from an initially flat, flexible sheet of absorbent material, such as foam rubber or the like, and is disposed about flanges 42 of supports 40 in a disposition such that shaft 26, supports 40, and member 44 define a rotary, unitary assembly for transferring water from receptacle 12 to a location within the airstream passing through duct 18. As shown in FIG. 1, a portion of member 44 extends into duct 18 when receptacle 12 is secured thereto. In this respect, shaft 26 is normally disposed transversely of the airstream through duct 18 so that the maximum area of member 44 will be exposed to the air particle-s of the stream to thereby cause optimum moisture transfer from member 4a to the air particles.

A prime mover 46, such as an electric motor or the like, is connected to one end of shaft 26 by a coupling device 48 so that shaft 26, and thereby member 44, will rotate in the direction of arrow 50 shown in FIG. 1 with respect to receptacle 12. Bearing washers 52 limit the axial travel of shaft 26 as the same rotates.

A liquid pickup unit 54 is secured to the support 40 adjacent to end wall 20 of receptacle 12, whereby unit 54 rotates with shaft 26 in the direction of arrow 56. Unit 54 includes a tube 56 having a first arcnate portion 58, and a second portion 60 integral with portion 58 and disposed at an angle with respect thereto. Portion 53 has an outer, open end 62 and .is disposed substantially circumferentially of shaft 26 adjacent to the outer periphery of the corresponding support 40. Portion 60 is disposed substantially radially of shaft 26 and the junction between portions 58 and 60 is substantially of the same cross section of these portions so as to allow unrestricted liquid flow therebetween.

A tubular element 64 extends along shaft 26 through a short distance and .is in fluid communication with the innermost end of portion 60 of tube 56. Element 64 do fines means for directing a quantity of liquid out of portion 60 in a manner hereinafter described. Tube 56 and element 64 are secured in any suitable manner to support 40 and shaft 26 respectively. Since tube 56 and ele ments 64 are relatively rigid, the securing of one of these components to the adjacent structure is suificient to secure the other component in its operative position. As shown in FIG. 3, tube 56 is welded to the adjacent face 66 of the corresponding support 40. However, element 64 could be secured to shaft 26 so as to mount tube 56 in its operative position.

End wall 20 is provided with a discharge opening 68 having a pipe 70 adapted to be coupled to a suitable drain or the like, pipe 70 being in fluid communication therewith. A collector plate 72 is secured in any suitable manner to the inner surface of end wall 20 about opening 68 thereof so that water directed int-o the space between end wall 20 and plate 72 will be delivered into opening 68 and thereby, into pipe 76. As shown in FIG 2, plate 72 has an arcuate, upper edge 74 disposed above the major portion of the lowermost arcuate edge 76 thereof. Edge 76 is secured, such as by welding or the like, to end wall 26* so that end wall 20 and plate 72 will define a liquid receiver 78 having an open, upper end and disposed below and. .in alignment with the outer open end of element 6 Receptacle 12 has a trough-shaped projection 80 forming a portion of the bottom thereof as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5. Projection St) has a bottom Wall 82 which slopes progressively upwardly as the same extends from end wall 20 to end wall 22. A discharge opening 84 is provided in bottom wall 82 adjacent end wall 20, and a valve $6 coupled with discharge opening 84 meters the liquid fiow therefrom.

In operation, humidifier 10 is secured to the underside of duct 18 in the manner shown in FIG. 1, with member 44 extending into the path of the airstream flowing through duct 18. Arrows 88 denote the direction of flow of the air; hence, shaft 26 is rotate-d in a counterclockwise direction when viewing FIG. 1.

Prime mover 46 is preferably actuated in response to the actuation of the system with which duct 18 is associated so that the air in the stream pas-sing through duct 18 will be humidified by the process of evaporation upon contact of the air particles with member 44.

For each revolution of shaft 26, tube 56 will move into and out of the water in receptacle 12. As tube 56 moves downwardly and into the Water, a quantity of water will enter portion 58 through open end 62 thereof. Water will continue to fiow into portion 58 until end 62 passes out of the water. The quantity of water received by portion 58 will, of course, be determined by the configuration of tube 56, ,i.e., the lengths and diameters of portions 58 and 60.

The water entering portion 58 will flow toward the junction between portions 58 and 60 and then into portion 69 as portion 5'8 continues to move upwardly out of the water under the influence of shaft 26. Eventually, the level of the water in tube 56 will reach a height such that the water will commence to flow outwardly of portion 60 and into element 64. Continued rotation of tube 56 will dispose portion 60 above element 64 and all the water in tube 56 will then be discharged therefrom into element 64.

The water directed out of tube 56 by element 64 will be discharged from the latter and collected in the space between end wall 26 and plate 72. The water will gravitate through opening 68 and into pipe 70.

In practice, substantially all of the water will have been discharged from tube 56 after portion 6%) thereof has moved into a substantially horizontal disposition. Hence, element 64 will be located at the side of shaft 26 rather than above the latter as the last portion of the water from element 64 empties into the space therebelow.

As water is removed by unit 54, receptacle 12 is replenished with a like quantity of Water through slot 28 from tank 32. Thus, fresh water is maintained in receptacle 12 during operation of humidifier 10. The use of unit 54 is secured directly to the rotating part of humidifier the water on the inner surface of receptacle 12. Since unit 52 is secured directly to the rotating part of humidifier 16, there is no structure of a mechanical or electrical nature that would require maintenance, as is required in humidifiers using electrically actuated pumps and valves. Unit 54, may be secured directly to the rotating component of a drum-type humidifier as well as a reel-type humidifier. A water receptacle, such as receptacle 12, of an existing humidifier need only be slightly modified in order that opening 68 be formed therein and plate 72 be secured thereto.

As tube 56 moves into and out of the water, it dips or scoops the aforesaid quantity which contains mineral solids, such as lime or calcium. These solids, in the water scooped by tube 56, are discharged out of receptacle 12 through opening 63 thereof so as to prevent the formation of deposits as a result of the minerals on the inner surface of the receptacle. Any precipitation from the water may be drained from receptacle 12 through opening 84. Similarly, any dust or dirt particles adhering to the outer surface of member 54 as a result of contact with the air particles flowing through duct 18, will be removed from member 44 and will gravitate to bottom wall 82 for removal from receptacle 12 through opening 84.

I claim:

A humidifier comprising:

an open top receptacle having a side wall, a bottom wall and a pair of opposed end walls coupled to the side and bottom walls, said side wall having a liquidreceiving opening therein, one of said end walls having a liquid-discharging opening therein, said receptacle adapted to receive a supply of water therein to a level defined by said opening in said side wall;

a shaft; means coupled with said shaft for rotating the same in one direction;

means journaling the ends of said shaft on respective end walls for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis above the level of the wat r in said receptacle;

an absorbent member coupled with said shaft for rotation therewith and having a peripheral margin in at least partially surrounding relationship thereto, said member projecting partially out of the open top of the receptacle during a portion of the arcuate distance through which the member moves;

duct adapted to pass an airstream therethrough;

means mounting the receptacle on the underside of the a quantity of water therein, said tube having a second portion radially disposed relative to said shaft and joined at the outer end thereof to said first por tion, said first portion being in advance of said second portion, whereby the latter receives said quantity of water from said first portion as the tube moves upwardly;

a tubular element joined to the inner end of said second portion and extending along said shaft, said element having an open, outer end;

collector plate secured to said one end wall below said shaft and lforming with the latter a liquid-receiving space in fluid communication with said opening in said one end wall, said outer end of the element being above and in alignment with said space, whereby said quantity of water received in said first portion as the latter moves into and out of the Water in the receptacle in response to the rotation of the shaft, will pass successively into said second portion and said element and will subsequently be directed into said space and out of the latter through said opening in said one end wall; and

water supply means coupled with said receptacle in fluid communication with the opening in said side wall thereof for replenishing the supply of water therein each time a quantity of water is removed therefrom in response to the rotation of said shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,001,833 5/1935 Byrd 26l--92 3,093,080 6/1963 Tarifa et a1. 103-401 X 3,149,626 9/1964- Wentling et al. 26l-92 X 3,189,328 6/1965 Hotchkiss et a1 261*28 3,190,624- 6/1965 McElreath 261-92 3,266,784 8/1966 Saito 261-92 X RONALD R. WEAVER, Primary Examiner. 

